PoliticsDonald Trump Tells Factory Workers It Was 'Nice' There Were 'No Women' in the Crowd at UFC Birthday Bash: Watch
During his rambling Mack Trucks rally speech, Donald Trump said it was 'nice' that his UFC birthday bash had 'no women.'
June 25 2026, Updated 4:56 p.m. ET
While speaking to mostly men at the Mack Trucks manufacturing facility in Macungie, Penn., President Donald Trump admitted to attendees that he didn't mind how there were barely any women at his 80th birthday UFC cage fight on the White House lawn.
While delivering an 83-minute address, Trump veered into a riff about the "White House UFC Freedom 250" event. He began praising the physiques and mental toughness of the mixed martial arts fighters. Amid his commentary on the athletes, he remarked, “No women in the crowd, which is nice. But these are the toughest men on Earth, and it's tremendous pressure.”
Critics characterized the remark as a "dig about women,” arguing that celebrating an all-male space on the White House lawn promotes an exclusionary "boys' club" culture at the highest level of government.
Donald Trump said it was 'nice' that there weren't many women at the UFC Freedom 250 event.
Critics ridiculed the POTUS' statement and the 'tacky' all-male cage match.
Sports analysts pointed out that women are a massive, highly successful draw in the UFC, headlining major cards under the same rules as men. Shutting women out of the White House event was viewed as a regression for gender equality in combat sports.
MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace and journalist Kara Swisher blasted the entire all-male cage match as "tragically tacky.” They argued that turning the White House South Lawn into a commercial, violent spectacle for corporate sponsors degraded national symbols.
He then praised their muscles, gesturing toward his brain to emphasize the mental strength required to win matches.
Trump stated that UFC fighter Bo Nickal has "slightly harder and slightly younger" muscles, but claimed he himself holds a "tremendous physical advantage" in a fight because he is a similar size and weighs more.
Social media users made digs about Donald Trump's late pal Jeffrey Epstein being interested in young girls.
Commenters on TikTok and other social media channels replied to these comments with pride flags and suggested that Jeffrey Epstein's former friend might have been hoping for “young girls instead of women.”
This wasn’t the first time the looks-obsessed POTUS praised a man’s appearance.
Following a knockout victory by Brazilian fighter Paulo Costa, Trump told him, “You’re a beautiful guy. You could be a model... You’re too good-looking to be a fighter.”
During a Coast Guard graduation commencement address, Trump called a cadet to the stage who had aced every fitness test, stating, “I want to check him out! Woah! Look at the muscles on this guy! My hand, it’s like hitting a rock.” He also once noted a naval cadet's arm was "like steel.”
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The POTUS Has a Tendency to Praise Attractive Men
Donald Trump called out a 'handsome' reporter at the G7 summit.
During a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sky News Arabia correspondent Majed Al Farsi stood up to ask a question. Trump completely paused the briefing to gush over him.
"What a nice-looking person. Is he from your country?... He’s got such a nice way about him. My people are so mean. Look at this handsome guy, I could put him in a movie right now," the smitten POTUS gushed.
Rather than viewing it through the lens of romantic attraction, political experts like Sabrina Karim, a political science professor at Cornell University, suggest it is tied to an obsession with traditional masculine power. As an aging politician, Trump may use these public displays to align himself with a "glorified manhood" and project an image of ultimate physical strength to his base.
At the Mack Trucks rally, the president admitted his wife doesn't like when he impersonates athletes.
Trump’s speech at the truck plant was officially billed as a recognition of American labor and manufacturing.
Still, Trump used the platform to riff on culture war issues, launching into a highly animated, physical impersonation of a female weightlifter struggling with a lift, contrasting her with a transgender athlete who won easily.
He noted that First Lady Melania Trump previously begged him to stop doing this specific routine because it was "not presidential.”
The event faced a brief interruption when a heckler began shouting insults at Donald, calling him a pedophile, before being promptly escorted out of the building by security personnel.
